Drip systems and DOC - An Experiment Documented

One of the first videos I watch of Joeys was the drip system and I got REALLY excited. Then I was reading through my local groups forums and I saw some good and some bad reviews.

It had me a little worried. Though I know that there are always going to be differing opinions on things once there is enough of a back and forth I have to do an experiment.

The main complaints that I have seen are DOC's not being removed from the tank and bacteria being able to thrive since, with the drip system, some of your clean water gets sucked out with the dirty water never removing all the DOC's and leaving your fish vulnerable to bacteria between 30% water changes.

First I am not an expert. I did this as a quick DIY experiment and there are variables I left out. My weirs were quick and dirty and the stands were not level. I also did not simulate additional DOC's being added to the tank as the drip system cycles through.

I used the PVC overflow with the weir and drained the water into a bucket behind my table. I used my drip system that I had gotten off ebay. Where I can adjust the drip heads it isn't really clear on how many gallons per hour the drip is emitting. I eyeballed the drips and let it go. I documented it all and will make a video sometime.

I did some research on food coloring (because that seemed to be the best way to see the changes) and then did some research to see if food coloring is a good analog for DOC's. I was unable to locate any documentation that it was but decided to go along with the experiment anyway.

Below are my results. On the far left is the lowest drip rate. They continue up in drip rates as you move towards the right.